In order to deliver disaster assistance to such a large and dispersed number of survivors, FEMA has worked in concert with our federal partner agencies state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and also non-governmental organizations (NGO) and the private sector to ensure a unity of effort that serves the needs of disaster survivors. With the addition of the Wildfires in California, this was FEMA’s most demanding year in its 40 year history. Approximately 26 million people live in counties and municipalities that received disaster declarations as a result of these three storms – roughly eight percent of the entire U.S. The impacts of these events were substantial. Three major hurricanes-Harvey, Irma, and Maria- made landfall along the Gulf Coast, in the Southeast, and in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Last year’s historic hurricane season was a true test of the Nation’s ability to respond to and recover from multiple concurrent disasters. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Nielsen and FEMA Administrator Long, thank you for the opportunity to discuss DHS and FEMA’s response and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico following the devastating hurricanes in 2017. I am Michael Byrne, the Assistant Administrator for the Field Operations Directorate within the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Office of Response and Recovery and the Federal Coordinating Officer for the Hurricane Irma and Maria response and recovery in Puerto Rico. Good morning, Chairman DeSantis, Ranking Member Lynch, and members of the Subcommittee.